Ok, so I'm over halfway through with this book on Combatting Cult Mind Control. Does the dude ever mention jw's (besides one page in the bibliography at the end)? If not, would there be a way to get a jw to read the book, maybe pointing fingers at some other cult religion so you dont appear to be talking about the Witnesses? Doubtful, but possible....right? This book rocks! I started my fade about 12 years ago and never read any "apostate" literature until recently. This author wasn't even a jw apostate, but he sure does hit the nail on the head!
Steven Hassan's Cult book...
by homeschool 12 Replies latest jw friends
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OnTheWayOut
Steve Hassan never mentions JW's except for the reference in the bibliography at the end. I took a black marker and ran through that single reference so that I could get it into a loved one's hands. Just the title scared her away and she threw the book away.
The average JW mind cannot even start to wonder if they are in a cult, because they picture a cult as the Jonestown Kool-Aid sippers or as Heaven's Gate suicice groups or as the Mormon breakaway bigomists. To even try to bring it into their mind is just too painful for many, but your loved one or friend might be an exception.
I don't know how to get them to read it.
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leavingwt
Yes, he certainly does hit the nail on the head.
His first book never mentions the JWs, because he didn't know they were a destructive cult when he wrote this first book. His second book mentions them quite frequently.
I was unsuccessful at getting a JW to consider the book. (I cut the bibliography page out.)
You can, however, try to educate them about 'Thought Reform', in your conversations with them. There are many cults in the news. You can apply to points to other groups. They "might" make the connection.
The word "cult" in the title of the book scares them, because they realize that most people consider them to be a cult.
Chapter 4 of 'Combatting Cult Mind Control' is most excellent. To those reading these words, if you do nothing else, please read Chapter 4.
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homeschool
Well, just finished reading it. Thanks, guys, for your insight. LOL...i contemplated blacking out the words or tearing the single bibliography page out too. Well, for anyone who sees this post, I HIGHLY recommend reading the book.
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Mrs. Fiorini
I, too, have been tremendously helped by Hassan's books.
It's so sad when JWs are afraid to read books on cults and how they operate. Anyone who feels this way owes it to themselves to find out why.
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jws
I have a copy at home that I never got very far into. The way I remember it, wasn't he talking about Moonies? We used to run across Moonies at regular intervals back in the 70's in door-to-door work.
If I approached my JW family with the idea that this is how to take the blinders off of the Moonies, they might see it as useful information for their door-to-door work. In the mean time, they might realize a few things about their own religion.
Like I said, I didn't get far into the book so maybe that angle wouldn't hold up once they read more of the book. And, I don't know that there are still Moonies, so I don't know how interested a JW would be in trying to unweave a Moonie.
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OnTheWayOut
The way I remember it, wasn't he talking about Moonies?
Maybe I think this is more important because this was really the first book I read that was anti-cult, even before I read Ray Franz's books or any other books about the JW's.
The fact that it had NOTHING TO DO WITH JW's yet it could have had EVERYTHING TO DO WITH JW's was why it was such a great book. It wasn't about breaking out of the Moonies, it was about breaking out of a cult. When I read about the Moonies, I saw that cults have standard practices and deceptions. WTS uses the standard practices and deceptions.
If I approached my JW family with the idea that this is how to take the blinders off of the Moonies, they might see it as useful information for their door-to-door work. In the mean time, they might realize a few things about their own religion.
If that were to work, it would be wonderful. I have to agree that they would think they don't run into Moonies, so they wouldn't generally bother.
I have no good ideas on how to get a JW to read this book. Maybe the "If you really want to know what I am going through, you will read this book" method would work for some. My wife saw me reading this book a few months before it wound up on her lap. When she saw the title, she was afraid of it. When she had the book, she quickly got rid of it. Just the thought of "cult" is too close to home and triggered her fears of demons.
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homeschool
i just wish there was some way to make it sound like "wow...there are some really crazy cults out there! You (JW) should read it to figure out ways to talk to cult members out in service." ...... i know, I know, wishful thinking
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leavingwt
I have a copy at home that I never got very far into.
PLEASE dust it off and read Chapter 4.
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detective
I think part of the issue is that you can't hand the book to someone in a high control group and say, "here read this" to begin with. For the most part, people in high control groups are used to having other people feed them information and are discouraged from researching information on their own. I think instead of telling them to do the work themselves, you need to subtly incorporate what you are learning into everyday conversations. It will make it far less threatening for the cult member. Deliver little tidbits of info on "those other groups" and let them make the connection. You have to ease them into thinking on their own. I mean, I wouldn't necessarily want to read something that rocked my every fiber of being- would you? You have to be ready for it. So, go ahead and gently prep them. Get them thinking a little bit at a time. That's just my thought on the matter. Great book!